Overview

Claimed by the Laird by Nicola Cornick

He will expose her as the criminal he seeks, or seduce her as the woman he desires

An old maidthat's all Lady Christina McMorlan, daughter to the Duke of Forres, is to society now that she's past thirty. She hosts her father's parties and cares for her siblings, knowing she'll never have her own home and family. She has no time to pine, however. By night, she's The Lady, head of a notorious whiskey-smuggling gang that supports her impoverished clan. They're always one step ahead of the revenue manuntil Lucas Black shows up.

Rejecting his title and the proper society that disparaged his mother, Lucas earns his living running a successful gambling house. He's also a spy, charged with bringing down the Forres Gang. He thinks The Lady's just a bored society spinster. She thinks he's a lost child playing at rebellion. And when the truth comes out, it's not just their love on the line .

Product Details

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Nicola Cornick has written over thirty historical romances for Harlequin and HQN Books. She has been nominated twice for a RWA RITA Award and twice for the UK RNA Award. She works as a historian and guide in a seventeenth century house. In 2006 she was awarded a Masters degree with distinction from Ruskin College, Oxford, where she wrote her dissertation on heroes.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

The third book in the Scottish Brides series by Nicola Cornick is my favorite.
When I first started reading historical romance in 2011, British author Cornick was one of the first authors who captured my interest with her passionate stories and her fiery heroines in her Scandalous Women of the Ton series. Since then, I&rsquo;ve been slowly reading her backlist. This is her newest series, set in Scotland and, while very entertaining and well written, the first two were not as exciting as that first series. Except for this one. I loved it.
Lucas is on the hunt for the killer of his youngest brother. He is from a titled family but has rejected his title and lands since his own family rejected him as a bastard. As such, &ldquo;he loathed the aristocracy with their opulent lifestyle and their sense of entitlement.&rdquo; He finds employment as a servant at Kilmory Castle where he has already met the lady of the house, Lady Christina MacMorlan. She is involved in whisky smuggling to aid the people of her estate when he runs afoul of them. She saves him from being killed and they form an instant attraction.
&ldquo;She loved doing the unexpected because her days were governed by the expected.&rdquo;
Lady Christina is the older daughter of an eccentric and selfish duke, who is more interested in his hobbies than in his own estate or his family. In his own way, he reminds me of Mr. Woodhouse from Jane Austen&rsquo;s Emma. She sacrificed her own happiness in marriage for the sake of her family and the welfare of her people, but she is a strong women of passion. Lucas quickly recognizes this. He also wants to take care of her since no one has ever done so. For years, she has presented a cool and ladylike outward appearance, but she hides great pain and Cornick portrays this very well.
&ldquo;Automatically she tidied her hair and smoothed her gown for a second time, taking comfort from the repeated movements, the habit of tidying herself and presenting a calm face to the world.&rdquo;
The sexual tension between Christina and Lucas is searing throughout this lovely story. We see Christina&rsquo;s torn loyalties between maintaining propriety and giving in to passion and Lucas&rsquo; struggle with honor as a gentleman and the duty to discover the truth about his brother&rsquo;s death.
&ldquo;The only people who did not know were her own family, and that was because they knew nothing about who she really was and cared less.&rdquo;
I like that Lucas is about six years younger than Christina. Monica Burns and Amara Royce are two other historical romance authors I love who boldly tell the happy endings of older heroines.
&ldquo;She barely knew this man, but it felt as though he could see right through her to all the secrets she kept hidden, all her deepest thoughts and feelings.&rdquo;
Christina is a kind woman who cares for others no matter what. This endears, astounds, and fascinates Lucas.
&ldquo;At each turn he suspected her and at each turn she repaid that suspicion with generosity of spirit.&rdquo;
Characters from the first two books in the series make an appearance here but it is not necessary to have read those books to appreciate this love story.
A thrilling and touching romance.

The New York Times bestselling Nina Reilly novels have dazzled both readers and critics with
their crackling blend of legal suspense and taut human drama. Now Perri O'Shaughnessy, hailed as "smart", "gripping", and "complex" by the San Francisco Chronicle, brings ...

It’s the end of the summer, which means one thing: Color War time! Color War
is the event of the summer, a massive camp-wide competition. The camp is divided into two teams, Blue and White, with upper campers vying for ...

I’m Eddie Drood. AKA Shaman Bond, a member of the Drood family. We Droods have
been holding back the forces of darkness for generations. It’s a hell of a job—and we’re good at it…But now, the Droods have hit a ...

I-Day is near at hand, and soon the Fangborn will reveal themselves to humankind. As
a member of this secretive race of werewolves, vampires, and oracles, will archaeologist Zoe Miller be prepared?Still grappling with the newfound powers she gained after ...

To unite their clans, Kara Gordon is bound by a marriage contract to the McKie
family. But when her intended dies in a bloody mountain skirmish, she is forced to marry his heir and younger brother, Henry, a mere twelve-year-old ...

When the town's most notorious heartbreaker Dangerously seductive and sinfully beautiful, Susanna Burney is society's most
sought after matchbreaker Paid by wealthy parents to part unsuitable couples, she's never yet failed to accomplish her mission of diverting a groomtobe. Until her ...